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If there’s one thing that helps calm the chaos before a busy school day, it’s having a tried and tested morning routine. And the perfect time to put one in place is the start of the school year when we’re fresh and enthusiastic!

Even the most seasoned school mums and dads know the wheels can quickly fall off on a school morning, and that’s why having a school morning routine is essential. We decided to ask the thousands of school mums in our Mouths of Mums community for their best tips to creating a fail-safe school morning routine, and their answers are literal gold!

Real Mum School Morning Routine Tips

Back to school tips

From using tech to help tame the stress to clever lunch prep and how to get the kids to help (really!), these tips will have your school mornings running smoothly in no time.

Plan Ahead

If you’re able to carve out some time on the weekend and weeknights to prep what you can, it will make your mornings so much easier. Instead of the kids searching for socks, trying to finish homework or not having time for breakfast, you’ll find that everyone is far calmer if a few key things are ticked off ahead of time.

“Prepare lunches the night before, uniforms and shoes laid out at night, ensure all supplies needed for their day is in their bag the night before (hat, library bag, homework etc), have a to do check off chart for morning routine: make bed/get dressed/eat breakfast/hair and teeth/shoes on/pack lunch and water into bag etc.” – Kate

  • Prepare lunches the night before, or freeze ahead
  • Lay out uniforms (including socks and underwear) the night before – this means making sure the kids know if they have sport or not!
  • Have a dedicated school socks tub or drawer
  • Gather all supplies the night before including library bag, swimming gear, money etc.
  • Use weekends for homework as much as possible
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Combine Tasks

Mums are the masters of multitasking, so why not teach the kids to do it too? There’s so much to get done in the mornings, if you’re able to combine tasks things get ticked off much quicker.

Back to school tips

For example, keep the sunscreen on the vanity in the bathroom and get the kids to apply it after they brush their teeth. Make healthy Breakfast Cookies that can also be packed in school lunches or use dinner leftovers for school lunches.

Use Tech Thoughtfully

Most of us are keen for the kids to ditch tech in the mornings, because it’s distracting. But it can actually be used to your advantage. Devices like Google Nest and Alexa can be programmed with a morning routine, and will broadcast alerts to keep everyone on track.

Back to school tips

Use A Timer

In a similar way, our mums recommend timing out the morning routine and then setting alarms at intervals. It means tasks are getting ticked off quickly, and nothing is forgotten.

Back to school tips

Create A ‘Drop Zone’

School means stuff. Lots of stuff. Between books, shoes, uniforms, lunch boxes, notes and library bags, it’s really easy to forget or misplace items. Lots of our mums have created dedicated school drop zones at home, where all of the kids’ school-related items are kept. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, just a corner with some storage. Bonus points if the kids are actually able to reach everything so they can be independent in the mornings.

Back to school tips

Make It Fun!

It may seem counterproductive, but injecting some fun into the morning routine may actually help keep the kids focused. Reward them for ticking off tasks with some tech or playtime, and you’ll be surprised how much they want to help out!

“Playtime while I’m fixing breakfast then after eating we run through the list; teeth brushing, applying sunscreen, dressing, packing bags and what not then they can have screen time while I clean up the kitchen and get myself ready. As much as I would love to be in the position of leaving them to it, it’s just so much easier and more effective for all to be there and help.” – Kat

Back to school tips

Share The Load

Remember you don’t have to do everything yourself. Besides getting the kids to help, make sure you and your partner are also able to split tasks to make life easier.

This might sound like a really simple thing but as a shift worker, sharing the load with dad. Some days, one will sort lunch and uniform, the other will do the puffer, teeth brushing and school drop off. Other days, one parent does everything and the next the other parent does everything. Just how our little one has grown up and is used to this process now. We find we’re more effective in the mornings working together as a team. – Nikki

Limit Distractions

Kids often want the comfort of the familiar when they wake up. That may be playing with their favourite toys, watching a TV show or playing on a tablet. Our mums swear by only using these things as a reward, once the morning routine is done.

“No technology/playing until everyone is dressed and ready to walk out the door.” – Courtney


Banana Boat

We love that so many of our mums include applying sunscreen as part of the morning routine – it’s such a great way for sun protection to become second nature – just like the kids putting on their seatbelt every time they get in the car.

Gentle yet effective sun protection for your little ones, Banana Boat offers offers fun in the sun protection with lightweight, non-greasy formulas that are with 4-hour water resistance, perfect for kids’ delicate skin, so your family can enjoy being out in the sun.

Always read the label and follow the directions for use. Wear protective clothing, a hat and sunglasses in addition to sunscreen. Reapply frequently. Avoid prolonged high-risk sun exposure.

Mouths of Mums is proudly working with Banana Boat to bring you this article. 

  • I agree with you, I don’t believe homework should be left till the weekend either. I think kids should do it when it comes homes, get it done and then be able to enjoy their spare time doing what they want. I am lucky, my daughters school doesn’t really do homework which is such a relief.

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  • There’s definitely some great ideas in there, it’s important to have a routine. My kids are a little older now, but our routine is that I wake them when I finish my morning exercise, then they go and make their own breakfast while I get dressed. They then get dressed (and brush teeth) while I have breakfast. Then I go upstairs and do my hair, etc. By the time I come back downstairs, they are to be completely ready with lunchboxes in bags. I used to then do my daughter’s hair, but as she’s starting highschool, she needs to do this herself now.

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  • Some great and useful tips indeed.
    However I don’t agree with the suggestion to use weekends for homework as much as possible ! Homework is not for the weekend in my opinion; weekends are for connecting with the family and for relaxing after a week of hard work and or learning.

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  • Such a great article, super helpful as my first one starts kindy this year. Definitely
    sticking to a routine helps and I like the point about putting together a daily task list. I plan on prepping lunches the night before, getting informs ready and everything packed for school and my work.

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  • We use a checklist that we check off as we go! For example: Teeth clean (tick), hair done (tick), bed made (tick) bag packed (tick), school notes/reminders (tick), after school items read (tick), bag packed (tick) and lastly shoes on! This way we can have a quick scan of what is missing! We use the check /tick system that we can then adapt or change as the school year progresses as things change!

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  • My daughter is super fair so slapping on sunscreen every morning is a necessity hahah. I’m still on sunscreen duty since they’re young and tend to miss bits. Appreciate some of those morning routine tips. I prep lunchboxes on Sundays, but freeze the sangers or wraps and bung them in the lunchboxes.

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  • I always have uniforms out the night before. I also make lunches including for my work lunch and sons. I even have my work clothes ready. Having a son with aches and autism I need to be organised cause I never know how the morning will go! And for our sanity we should prepare as much as we can. Then they are off to school and we can breathe again lol

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  • These are great tips just before school starrs. Have to say making lunches the night before is the biggest time saver for me with 3 kids.

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  • My kids are very fair so applying sunscreen every morning is essential. I still help them with it as they are young and tend to miss sections
    Appreciate some of the tips for morning routines. I pre pack lunch boxes the night before but make sandwiches or wraps that morning to avoid them going soggy

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  • Sticking to a routine as much as possible really helps.

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  • I’ll be honest, having a list of tasks helped me keep track across the three kids too!

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  • I do agree that it is handy to prepare lunches the night before, uniforms and shoes laid out at night, ensure all supplies needed for their day is in their bag the night before (hat, library bag, homework etc), have a to do check off chart for morning routine: make bed/get dressed/eat breakfast/hair and teeth/shoes on/pack lunch and water into bag

    Reply

  • Going into my second year now with 2 school aged kids. You definitely need to come up with ways to make the morning routine that much more simpler. Especially when youre exhausted and tired, running off very little fuel in the morning. I love preparing lunch boxes the night before and prepping food for the week ahead.

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  • I love this article! I’m a first time school mum this year as my daughter starts kindergarten. I’m planning to have everything organised the night before (each days uniform sorted into separate shelves in a trolley, lunches made, bags packed with library bags etc) so all we have to do each morning is eat breakfast and get dressed. I bought my daughter a second scout daily organiser for Christmas which has magnetic tiles that she can turn over when she completes each task (eg brush teeth, sunscreen, shoes on, etc), I’m really hoping it helps 🤞🏻oh and using technology/ipad time as a reward if she gets it all done with time to spare.

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  • We also have set times for chores and routines and set timers; a good strategy for getting everything done and everyone out the door on time. Most importantly we do like to keep chores and activities fun and this is important for motivation. We always have rewards for working hard and getting things done and being on time.

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  • It is incredibly important to have routines for the sanity and wellbeing of everybody in a household. We have morning routines, afternoon/evening routines and weekend routines. It is important that everyone contributes to setting up routines that work for the family. Routines really do help with being prepared and on time during the week and weekend.

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  • Get the kids involved in making their own lunches. And having a list (with pictures when they were small) was just vital for me, because with multiple kids I was always losing track of who was on what step. The list let me put more responsibility on them – I just had to check they’d done everything on the list!

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  • Absolutely love these tips! I’m a few years away from school time but will try to keep these in mind. The planning for the morning sounds like the best idea. Having all food, snack, water and uniforms ready to go. Having bags organised and ready would be very helpful too. I can only hope it will go somewhat smoothly

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  • This article offers some really amazing tips. I also have a school draw where all my daughters socks, underwear, skorts etc are stored and i lay out her clothes the night before so it is quick and easy for her to get changed in the morning. I have heard other mums making sandwiches and freezing them, I am not sure i like this idea but i do fill up the drink bottle, put the lunch bag and ice packs in the freezer the night before and add as much as i can to her school bag before we go to bed. I also prepare my lunch for the next day at the same time if it is salad etc.

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  • Some great hints in the article. being organised and having a routine is essential for us all, even those without kids . No TV is a great one or they will sit there like little zombies staring at the screen getting nothing done. Breakfast table set and ready to go, bags out ready to pack and lunches made.

    Reply

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